Niranjan, H.S., Manish Kumar Maurya, Vindeshwari Prasad and Shweta Patel
Abstract
Sheath blight of rice, caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk), is one of the most significant diseases of rice after blast, with reported yield losses ranging from 1.2% to as high as 69.0%. A total of 399 rice germplasms/entries were evaluated under natural field conditions during Kharif 2024-25 to assess their resistance against sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani. None of the genotypes were found immune or highly resistant. Twenty-three entries exhibited resistant reactions, while 239 were moderately resistant, 133 were susceptible, and 4 genotypes were highly susceptible. The absence of immune and highly resistant types highlights the narrow resistance spectrum within the germplasm pool. The identified resistant and moderately resistant genotypes may serve as potential donors in resistance breeding programs aimed at developing sheath blight-tolerant rice cultivars.